Daej Hamilton getting creative with wood in the workshop at Franklin Horner Community Centre in Etobicoke, Ont.Jennifer Roberts/The Globe and Mail
Daej Hamilton loves the moment when she finally assembles and glues together a piece of wood furniture, home decor or kitchenware. “I think it’s at that point where I’m like, ‘Ah, I did something.’ As soon as it’s glued up, I’m happy.”
Through her Toronto company, Daej Designs, Ms. Hamilton builds one-of-a-kind pieces including wooden tables, benches, shelves and bowls, often as commissions for clients. She always tries something new, relishing the challenge and the elated look on her client’s face.
Women in the woodworking industry such as Ms. Hamilton are innovating every day with saws and sandpaper. They’re also carving new expectations in this field where being male is the norm.
The benefits of early exposure
Working with wood has traditionally been a “guy” thing. According to the Government of Canada Job Bank, only five per cent of carpenters in Ontario are women. For decades, school shop classes were offered only to boys, then to both genders and more recently, cut entirely. (In Ontario, that’s changing, with all students starting high school this year having to complete a technological education credit, which could include classes in auto, manufacturing or construction technology.)
Ms. Hamilton’s school had a shop, and in Grade 6 she took her first class. “I realized that anything in my head I could make. A lamp, a bowl, anything. That was so cool to me.” She scrapped her dream of becoming an inventor and pivoted to furniture maker, studying industrial woodworking at Humber College.
Some women learn woodworking at home. Chantelle and Celine Collier of Guelph, Ont., grew up watching their dad Bill use a lathe to make custom wood pens as a hobby. He worked in the meat industry but launched William Wood-Write in 2006 to sell his crafts, pen kits and accessories online.
To make pocket money as kids, the sisters would sort pen kits into baggies and label them. “We started learning the products without even realizing it,” says Celine. They would also use the lathe in their dad’s workshop and attend trade shows.
Older sibling Chantelle initially pursued a career in legal studies. “I went into the real world, got an office job with a boss and a desk and everything. And after a week I was like, ‘This isn’t for me.’ I like being hands-on and creative.” She joined William Wood-Write in 2011, with Celine coming on board in 2017.
Working with a staff that is mostly women, the Colliers have since expanded with new products, including knife-making supplies.
“We’re constantly coming up with product ideas and pushing them through to manufacturers,” says Celine. Fly-by-night newcomers will set up digital shops to compete with them from time to time, but they maintain their customer base by offering quality products, lots of choice and expertise.
‘You need a strong stomach’
A decade ago, Amy Webster had no experience working with wood when she was looking to get out of the food service industry. She was living in Perth, Ont., a town with many beautiful old homes, so she decided to take a heritage carpentry program and loved it, gaining her Red Seal certification.
In 2015, Ms. Webster and her husband started Wildwood Perth to build custom cabinetry, signs and home decor. She says customers react in different ways to seeing a woman providing job quotes and wielding tools.
“Some are excited. Some defer to my husband in conversation.”
Ms. Webster says working in a male-dominated field can be intimidating. “You do need a strong stomach sometimes to just get through that hurdle of being intimidated. [But] once you feel comfortable, it’s quite a good career.”
Similarly, the Collier sisters find that some older male clients make assumptions when they call with questions.
“When they call with a product question, they do not expect a young lady to pick up the phone,” says Celine. “You really have to work to prove to them that you know the answer and you have product knowledge.”
Pushing the limits of the industry
Profit margins can be slim in a woodworking-related small business, meaning proprietors need to be creative and nimble. Ms. Hamilton started her company as a side hustle while she worked at a design firm that allowed her access to its shop after hours.
When she went full time with woodworking, she had a limited budget for renting space. She lucked out with the discovery of Franklin Horner Community Centre in Etobicoke, Ont., which operates a membership-based wood shop. She’s now involved in helping run and manage the shop as a volunteer. “There’s lots of storage, which is the best part,” she says.
At William Wood-Write, Chantelle and Celine worry that the company’s long-term prospects hinge on an aging customer base. “We’ve been reaching out to high schools and offering them a discount. We have a lot of school accounts now,” says Celine, who is thrilled to see girls get interested in lathe work.
“The empowerment aspect for young women is amazing.”
Sharing life skills and career opportunities
In early 2022, Ms. Webster decided to offer a power tools course for women. The response was overwhelming. Now, the course has become her main focus – along with caring for her toddler. “It’s one of the best and most successful things we’ve done at our business,” she says.
She says she considers knowing one’s way around a workshop a life skill. Her female students of all ages “want to build a composter or fix a fence without having to wait for someone else to do it.”
But Ms. Webster also sees woodworking and the trades more broadly as a great career path for women, who might do restoration work with government agencies, start their own companies or work with large builders, among other options.
“I’m seeing a lot more job opportunities [emerging] in this field, and they’re all really different,” she says. “The sky’s the limit.”
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